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Rating: 
Summary: A valuable Jyotish book.
Review: A very good book for Western astrologers who are interested in Jyotish.Detail fundamentals are quite adequate and explanations are logical and applicable,especially about bhavas,nakshatras and interpretation of the horoscopes. For jyotishis who are more critical,details in some yogas are to be carefully considered and judged, as the conditions of such yogas may differ in details.Examples are the Panca Mahapurusa yogas and Dharma Karma Adhipati yogas.
Rating: 
Summary: A useful guide but loaded with idiosyncratic interpretations
Review: Hart DeFouw and Robert Svoboda are both very talented writers and astrologers, so this book review is not taken lightly, but I wanted to "set the record straight" or balance the perspective. Although the book has quite a few good sections--the nakshatra discussions are very interesting for example--parts of the book are really quite at odds with most mainstream authorities on Jyotish and provide information which is not really helpful in chart interpretation. For example, the entries on the grahas are weak and general, and the chapters on the signs pull us back to the worst excesses of personality analysis based on sign--not a good thing for astrology, because it ignores the basic principle that the signs will manifest differently based upon the placement of the lord of the sign, a basic principle in Jyotish. Also, the analyses (particularly that of Einstein's chart) stumble all over themselves trying to prove principles that really don't fit the charts very well. Any time the analysis in Jyotish needs too many roads to get to a conclusion, you have picked the wrong technique. In addition, the overview of different types of Vedic astrology looks very speculative--no real analysis of origins or any scholarly work in this direction. Finally, some of the radical techniques taught by their teacher are intriguing but are not validated. For instance, what does it MEAN in chart interpretation that Rahu is exalted in Scorpio? How does this affect how one would work with a client? There are some interesting parts, such as the discussion on planetary war (which has been further amplified by other Western authorities). The writing is entertaining and easy to read, but I would be extremely selective in using the techniques promulgated under this book for chart interpretation. I would recommend starting the pursuit of the study of Vedic Astrology with the books of James Braha or William Levacy. This book only acts authoritative.
Rating: 
Summary: From darkness to partial light - with help from this book
Review: I bought this book in India having pored over several good, but hard to read Indian books on Jyotish ( Vedic Astrology). Defouw and Svoboda have put much effort into making this book read well for the serious enquirer into this ancient art. It certainly helped me gain a greater understanding of the subject while sitting on a South Indian beach, and even after my return home I find it useful and informative. Highly recommended if you want to learn the subject properly.
Rating:
Summary: The Astrologer's Bible
Review: The book is highly useful and informative.A beginners book to learn & understand Vedic astrology in clear and concise way.
The boook is well researched with references to the ancient texts like Saravali, Brihat Jataka,other old classical Vedic (Hindu)astrology books .The authors have explained in clear details the core basic facts of Vedic Astrology such as :Nakshatras,Yogas,Almacs,Dasha,Karma,Agnichayana(Vedic Fire Sacrifice)Ashtaka Varga,Arudha Lagna.+ the book also has astronomy required for Jyotish (Astrology),which is ignored by modern day authors of Astrological books.The book can be understood by those with no,or very little knowledge of Vedic Astrology.The book will certainly help one gain a greater understanding of the subject.Highly recommended.Dr.Mohit (Stephen)Parihar(Vedic Medical Astrologer,Canada,)(...)
Rating:
Summary: The Definitive Resource on Jyotish in English
Review: This is a book I use daily in my study of Jyotish (the astrology of India), as well as in more clearly discerning my clients' evident and also more hidden talents, possibilities and challenges in my work as a life coach. Firmly established within the growing collection of erudite and excellent books on Indian astrology and other Vedic vidyas (traditional sciences) by Robert E. Svoboda and Hart deFouw, this volume sets the benchmark for the kind of resource one will want to use over a lifetime. _Light on Life_ is the original kind of "hypertext" book - not in a literal sense, but because its thousands of key insights perpetually inform one another as the attentive reader is guided in his or her ability to stitch concepts like threads back and forth across distinct but interrelated themes. For this reason, the contents of the book become nearly endless in their immediate richness, and yet the *implications* of the astrological concepts the book proffers and demonstrates for all facets of experience, secular and spiritual, simply *are* endless. There will indeed be some percentage of readers for whom this is a good place to begin Vedic astrological studies. But I think generally if one carefully reserves this volume as one's second or third book on Jyotish, the educational dividends will be far greater. The Jyotish worldview will change your life, doubtless, and some will advocate simply diving in, in which case if you make this book the equivalent of your Bible or overall intellectual and spiritual companion -- and also treat it as the textbook for a class you have to pass -- over the course of, say, the span of a semester, it will likely bear fruit. However, there are alternate paths that include the same long-term relationship without that immediate commitment! I feel odd writing these words because I in no way want to diminish my praise. deFouw and Svoboda are among my favorite authors, period. (By the way, please note that Svoboda is a full co-author and not merely a contributor.) Nonetheless, since this book is for me unequivocally a powerful dose or very rich meal, to invoke just a couple of images, I do not think all will benefit from simply a sample from its pages. It somehow does not encourage such sampling for the really raw beginner-- and yet other *equally valuable* primers indeed do permit such sampling, toe-dipping, etc. with no loss to the full experience. I say all this simply based on my own experience and that of many friends and associates in the Vedic astrological community. There is no hierarchy here, no affront to either _Light on Life_ or its alternatives as choices for first books. The choices are just elementally different, different kinds of entities or beings. _Light on Life_'s sections on nakshatras (lunar mansions); bhava (house), graha (planet) and rashi (constellation or "sign") significations; numerous and thorough traditional taxonomies that group many sectors of phenomena and experience in categories according to the authority of nakshatra, rashi, graha, etc.; and absorbing and instructive case studies of well-known subjects comprise some of the best pages you will read on Jyotish anywhere. **This material will enrich and deftly partner with any other superb books and articles you may possess on Vedic Astrology (e.g., the contemporary writings of Sanjay Rath, Sat Siri Khalsa, Ernst Wilhelm and William Levacy to name just a few; older modern standards by, say, B.V. Raman and K.S. Krishnamurti; and naturally classics such as the Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra, the Brihat Jataka, etc.)** In few words, this is one you should get your hands on -- it has gone out of print in the past, so snatch it up now -- even if you heed my advice and get to it after building a simple foundation elsewhere.
Rating:
Summary: Superb Introduction to Vedic Astrology
Review: This is one of the finest introductions to Vedic Astrology you'll find anywhere. The information is as authentic as it gets, coming straight from the oral tradition of India where the authors studied for years. I have over 100 books on Vedic Astrology in my personal library, and this is the one book I keep turning back to. Very highly recommended!
Rating:
Summary: Best book on Vedic Astrology(Jyotish)
Review: This is the best book on Vedic Astrology (Jyotish) available in the market today. It provides a very strong foundation for a serious student of Jyotish.
The authors have taken great efforts to explain various aspects of this vast field in a very comprehensive manner. The book is very well organised. It first introduces the reader to the philosophy of Jyotish and how it relates to the Law of Karma and other apsects of Indian thought. I think getting an insight of how jyotish integrates with vedic world view in general is very important for an in depth understanding.
Then it builds on the basics of Jyotish. Grahas, Rashis, Bhavas, Panchanga, Nashaktras and so on. The authors not merely mention the attributes and characterstics of each of these building blocks, but also mention where and how these characterstics could be practically applied while interpreting a horoscope.
For instance, while mentioning the gender of Nakshatras, the authors explain how this knowledge could be used to predict whether a person will be blessed with a baby girl or a boy.
The authors have maintained a good balance among traditional Jyotish Principles, the distinctions as taught by their Jyotish Guru and as derived by their own experience.
Trying to learn Jyotish by directly reading the original Jyotish texts (or their translations) can leave a beginner student quite confused as these texts were not written for students, but, for teachers who would orally transmit this knowledge to their students.
The authors have taken care not just to reproduce the original texts, but have tried to emulate the oral tradition of teaching Jyotish through their unique approach to the subject and lucid writing style. I would say, they are pretty successful at that.
After creating a solid foundation on the building blocks of Jyotish, the book moves on to teach how to apply the knowledge of those building blocks to interpret a horoscope. The authors have abstratced eighteen basic criteria for horoscope interpretation out of a vast sea of documented Jyotish principles. This is simply brilliant and a saving grace for a Jyotish novice like me who was about to drown in the vast sea of innumerable and often contradicting Jyotish principles. In fact, many of these more complex rules can be derived from these eighteen basic criteria.
Then the book moves on to more advanced concepts like Graha Yogas, Dashas and Gocharas. Finally the book has a chapter on Example Charts illustrating how to apply Jyotish to real horoscopes.
Although the book has been promoted as an introductory text on Jyotisha, the reader will benifit more from the book if (s)he starts with a more preliminary book on Vedic Astrology and then studies this book as an intermediate level book. The reader can directly start with this book if (s)he already has some basic knowledge of Jyotish.
One more advice to the reader. The subject matter in this book should be digested slowly and patiently. It took me multiple reading sessions to finish a single chapter, but this really helped me fully comprehending the subject matter.
I myself started with "Beneath a Vedic Sky" by William Levacy (See my review) and then read 'Light on Life'. Profound thanks to Hart De Fouw and Robert Svoboda for sharing their knowledge and expericence of Jyotisha through this book.
Rating:
Summary: Best book on Vedic Astrology(Jyotish)
Review: This is the best book on Vedic Astrology (Jyotish) available in the market today. It provides a very strong foundation for a serious student of Jyotish. The authors have taken great efforts to explain various aspects of this vast field in a very comprehensive manner. The book is very well organised. It first introduces the reader to the philosophy of Jyotish and how it relates to the Law of Karma and other apsects of Indian thought. I think getting an insight of how jyotish integrates with vedic world view in general is very important for an in depth understanding. Then it builds on the basics of Jyotish. Grahas, Rashis, Bhavas, Panchanga, Nashaktras and so on. The authors not merely mention the attributes and characterstics of each of these building blocks, but also mention where and how these characterstics could be practically applied while interpreting a horroscope. For instance, while mentioning the gender of Nakshatras, the authors explain how this knowledge could be used to predict whether a person will be blessed with a baby girl or a boy. The authors have maintained a good balance among traditional Jyotish Principles, the distinctions as taught by their Jyotish Guru and as derived by their own experience. Trying to learn Jyotish by directly reading the original Jyotish texts (or their translations) can leave a beginner student quite confused as these texts were not written for students, but, for teachers who would orally transmit this knowledge to their students. The authors have taken care not just to reproduce the original texts, but have tried to emulate the oral tradition of teaching Jyoish through their unique approach to the subject and lucid writing style. I would say, they are pretty successful at that. After creating a solid foundation on the building blocks of Jyotish, the book moves on to teach how to apply the knowledge of those building blocks to interpret a horroscope. The authors have abstratced eighteen basic criteria for horroscope interpretation out of a vast sea of documented Jyotish principles. This is simply brilliant and a saving grace for a Jyotish novice like me who was about to drown in the vast sea of innumerable and often contradicting Jyotish principles. In fact, many of these more complex rules can be derived from these eighteen basic criteria. Then the book moves on to more advanced concepts like Graha Yogas, Dashas and Gocharas. Finally the book has a chapter on Example Charts illustrating how to apply Jyotish to real horrscopes. Although the book has been promoted as an introductory text on Jyotisha, the reader will benifit more from the book if (s)he starts with a more preliminary book on Vedic Astrology and then studies this book as an intermediate level book. The reader can directly start with this book if (s)he already has some basic knowledge of Jyotish. One more advise to the reader. The subject matter in this book should be digested slowly and patiently. It took me multiple reading sessions to finish a single chapter, but this really helped me fully comprehending the subject matter. I myself started with "Beneath a Vedic Sky" by William Levacy (See my review) and then read 'Light on Life'. Profound thanks to Hart De Fouw and Robert Svoboda for sharing their knowledge and expericence of Jyotisha through this book.
Rating:
Summary: Best Book to Start With!
Review: You will loove this book. Its amazing.
Hart Defouw has actually been to India and learnt Jyotish
under the guidance of a vedic teacher for 15 years!
His book is so good that I sometimes feel like buying a second copy! There were some things which I would have never understood had I not read this book. You will realize that Defouw has not blindly stated the rules but has also given a lot of insight which will make you a good astrologer. Once you have read this book, you will have a very good grasp
on the principles and major aspects of this subject.
This book reads like a novel. Once you are done reading this book , you should then start reading books by contemporary Indian authors like Dr.Raman,
Dr. Charak etc.
"Elements of vedic astrology" by Dr. Charak is Available on
amazon.com. It gives a lot of details and also tell you a bit about astronomy and how to plot charts. But I think that it should be read only after reading Defouws book , else you may get lost. Try reading BV Raman's books on astrology after that. All of them are excellent - also inexpensive.... After this you will have a very good hand on making predictions . If you wish to pursue further and become a 'Pundit'
in vedic astrology, then try reading classics in Sanskrit with
english translation - written by ancient Hindu scholars ...
like 'Brihat Parashar Hora Shastra' , Brihat Jataka, Jataka Parijata etc...
These classics are the books that vedic scholars in India learn astrology from - but they are too complex to be read as the first reading. Reading Defouw 's book should be the first step.
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